View into the Fertile Country

May 19 - July 13, 2018

Still Life with Nasturtium and Brush Fire, acrylic on panel, 36” x 44”

Cartouche as Projection

ink on paper, 17 1/2” x 16 1/2” framed, sold

Cartouche as Fungi

ink on paper, 17 1/2” x 16 1/2” framed, sold

Cartouche as Discarded Sheet

ink on paper, 17 1/2” x 16 1/2” framed

Cartouche as Plexi Hunk in a Fountain

ink on paper, 17 1/2” x 16 1/2” framed

Cartouche with Rock Formation

ink on paper, 17 1/2” x 16 1/2” framed

On Saturday, May 19, 13FOREST Gallery opened View Into the Fertile Country, an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Nicole Duennebier. The show's work is a divergence for the artist, whose previous paintings presented fantastic biological forms emerging from Northern Renaissance darkness. No less complex, Duennebier’s new work defines a landscape where biology, dreams and teleporting caves are rendered in linear tones and a surprising palette.

Landscape with Pink Folds

acrylic on panel, 12” x 18”

Folded Landscape at Dusk

acrylic on panel, 12” x 18”

In creating this series, Duennebier set out to challenge herself and move away from aesthetic aspects for which she had become widely known. Her light sensibility, for instance, is no longer highly contrasting and perspective here is created by the objects that can be vegetal, mineral or both. Duennebier's move into formal landscape painting began three years ago with an invitation to enter an exhibition depicting the Boston Harbor Islands. "It was one painting," she recalls, "and I decided to go for it, into a zone of discomfort to see what would happen."

Still Life with Folds and Roses

ink on paper, 23” x 22” framed

Cartouche as Blast Site

ink on paper, 17 1/2” x 23” framed

Consulting a Youngster

ink on paper, 9 1/4” x 12” framed,

Corroded Cartouche

ink on paper, 10” x 9 1/4” framed

Duennebier had always used drawing as the compositional basis of her paintings, but the seven included in View into the Fertile Country are among the first she is presenting as a series. To use black and white ink on tan paper was a formidable decision at the start, according to Duennebier, but it led her to value the immediacy and nakedness of mark making. Comparing drawing to painting, Duennebier points out that "there's no place to hide in drawing. When a line is there, it's there...no turning back."

Still Life with Grapes and Black Mold

acrylic on panel, 20” x 16”

Still Life with Meat Pile

acrylic on panel, 20” x 24”

Bucolic Landscape

acrylic on panel, 9” x 12”

Details are a hallmark of this exhibition. Distant waves, bits of projected light and the bend of shadows appear intentionally, as do the caves and hollows dotting Duennebier's landscape. On this, she states, "I want people to come across my work and somehow get caught in it. Details and resting spots allow that to happen." Through all this and the power of a potent imagination, View Into the Fertile Country presents a world ready to explore.